Tucked vs. untucked

The general rule of thumb I tend to follow depends on the length and style of the shirt. If the shirt is a shorter t-shirt, I'm fine with leaving it untucked. If it's a tad longer, I'll tuck it in and pull the bottom out a little bit so it doesn't look nit-picky. Basically, I try to make sure my belt shows (at least, partially). As far as Oxfords, I usually tuck them in, but - more recently - I've let them loose.

How I think is that those so-called 'rules' are only for professional environments. In a way when you dress for work you're not really dressing for yourself but for others and to project that 'professional' image. So of course for work you should tuck in. But when in casual environment, who cares what the 'rules' are as long as you think it looks good. Having said that, I tend to tuck in shirts if they are slim. Who wants a huge bulge around the waist? Also get an interesting belt if you want to show off your fashion sense. =)

Generally I find myself leaving the shirt untucked if I am casual, especially with jeans. The real question is, if I'm going for the jeans-and-blazer look, do I still keep the shirt untucked? It looks better tucked in if you have the blazer on, but once you removce the blazer, I find a shirt tucked into jeans looks a bit goofy--especially in warm weather. montecristo#4

I actually think the blazer w/ untuck is kind of a cool contrast. I think that with the shirt tucked in looks even goofier -- because then it no longer looks like a "stylish but thrown together" look. It's sort of like having the intentionally messy haircut with a perfect part.

I think it also depends on the length of the shirt. If it's too long, you end up "cutting off your legs" making you look shorter.

Not just any old shirt can be worn untucked. Shirts with long tails look especially sloppy when untucked. Better to choose a shirt that fits close to the body and has a squared bottom. On a recent trip to Los Angeles it seemed that nobody tucked in their shirts, at least at a pack-em-in party at the Chateau Marmont. I felt completely Victorian with my tucked Thomas Pink shirt.

I hardly ever tuck in my shirt unless I am wearing a suit. I usually choose my shirts to be slim with relatively short shirt tails, which I think looks best. Come to think of it, a slim shirt nearly always looks better than a blousy one. I also find that untucked shirttails look better than a squared bottom, generally. Occasionally, I'll tuck in my shirt if I have on a pair of slim, flatfront pants and a cool belt, to show it off. I have never tucked a shirt into jeans. But then again, I am not German, nor have I ever been a fan of Nascar.

I go untucked with jeans and tucked with everything else except that if I find myself wearing a polo shirt with khakis, I go untucked to try to play down the cliché nerd look. -Ed

I think the answer to this one depends on body type. While I consider t-shirt always look better untucked, with dress shirts I am not so sure. As someone mentioned, an untucked shirt can make your legs look shorter. If you are longer in the upper body than in the legs, I would suggest that you avoid the untucked look. As for RL Polo shirts, I find that the tails of these can be very long - and they can look a little odd untucked. The opposite applies to Lacoste. Once again, no hard and fast rules - it depends on the shirt, and your body type. As for a blazer and an untucked shirt, my answer to that would be "no".